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Long-Term Customer Loyalty: How Can Your Business Gain It?

Estimated reading time: 2 mins

It doesn’t take a business guru to realize that loyal customers are the heart and soul of any successful modern company. However, acknowledging its importance is one thing, and achieving it is another altogether.

Failure to accomplish this goal is one of the chief reasons why over three in every four startups fails. So, how can your SME build a strategy that is guaranteed to retain clients for the long haul? Here’s all you need to know.

Invest in your staff. The vast majority of customer interactions will be handled by your employees rather than you. As such, the most crucial step to success is to motivate your sales team. When they perform to the highest possible standard, the customers receive a far greater experience. Not only will this help you recruit new clients, but it’ll also ensure that existing ones keep coming back for more.

Listen to what customers have to say. Ultimately, the whole purpose of your company is to satisfy consumer needs. Nobody understands those requirements better than the clients themselves. Whether it’s speaking to them in person or running online surveys, they are the best soundboard available. Not everything they say will be useful, but knowing that their views are heard will improve their feelings towards the brand. Build a business that includes them, and the rewards will follow.

Keep the business fresh in the minds of customers and non-customers alike. This can be achieved in many ways. Catchy slogans and soundbites are particularly useful for creating ad campaigns that stick. Using a promotional products company to design freebies like pens and mugs ensures customers see your logo on a daily basis. Besides, if you give a little, you’ll often receive a lot in return. In today’s climate, many businesses use blogs and social media for similar purposes.

Give customers a genuine incentive to keep spending. Loyalty schemes show customers that you care, but also actively encourage increased sales. This is especially true when you offer special rewards such as one-off items or discounted goods. On a similar note, a referral scheme can get existing clients to recruit new business on your behalf. Either way, the benefits don’t only bring short-term sales boosts; their impact on sustainability will be huge. Just remember to link all sales platforms together. Otherwise, it can become very confusing for everyone.

Make sure that you rectify problems as soon as you can. A strong customer care game is another clear commitment to the clients. Moreover, the knowledge that you will actively fix those faults gives them the confidence to come back for more. Conversely, a bad customer experience will probably result in lost custom forever. Additionally, there’s a very strong chance that they’ll tell friends and relatives to steer clear too Frankly, that’s the last thing you need.

Learn to incorporate each of the above points into your business ventures, and you’ll soon see a noticeable difference. With a loyal following behind you, the sky is the limit.

About the author /

Simon is a creative and passionate business leader dedicated to having fun in the pursuit of high performance and personal development. He is co-founder of Applied Change, a Business Change consultancy based in the UK. Simon is also an Ambassador for Gloucestershire business. Simon is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Professional Development.

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